Wild MushroomsOctober 24, 2015

Join an expert mycologist on this easy valley-bottom hike beside the Skagit River, revealing the rotten world of fungi.

It’s often said that without mushrooms there can be no forests. You’ll discover the many roles of fungi in sustaining diversity and healthy habitats in a forest ecosystem. This program reveals the essential service decomposers play in cycling nutrients and the many symbiotic relationships they form with other living things. We will identify the beautiful and colourful mushrooms that appear in the Cascades during the autumn, from high-value gourmet foods to deadly poisons. The hike will follow the Skagit River Trail, where old-growth forests thrive and Spotted Owls still breed. Here, the soils are deep and rich in organic debris, supporting a very healthy population of diverse fungi.

If a registration is cancelled 7 days or more before a program starts, HMCOL will refund the program fee and equipment rental fees (as applicable) minus an administrative cost of $20 per person. Program and equipment rental fees will not be refunded if a cancellation is received less than 7 days before the start of a program. A program may be cancelled at the discretion of HMCOL. If a program is cancelled, participants will receive a full refund of program and equipment fees.

A NOTE ABOUT LIABILITY

Hope Mountain Centre carries liability insurance and maintains excellent safety records. Due to the nature of outdoor programs, these trips do involve some personal risk. Hope Mountain Centre assumes no responsibility for personal injury or damage to personal property and we will require each participant to sign a liability release and assumption of risk form before participating in this program. Please be aware that activities typical of this program involve many risks, dangers and hazards including, but not limited to: accidents which occur during transportation or travel to and from events; slips and falls; loss of balance; impact, cold water immersion; repetitive strain injuries; dislocated shoulders; hypothermia, frostbite, sunburn; changing and inclement weather conditions including storms, blizzards, whiteouts and high wind; steepness of terrain, tree wells, crevasses; avalanches, cornices, landslides and falling ice, snow and objects; encounters with domestic or wild animals; negligence on the part of releasees and other participants.

While we love animals of all kinds, we ask that you please leave your pet at home.

PROGRAM PARTNERS

Register now online or reserve your spot by calling 604-869-1274, or by email at lklassen@hopemountain.org for more information.

Discover the many roles of wild mushrooms–fungi–in sustaining diversity and healthy habitat in forest ecosystems.

Online registration is closed. Please contact us to get on wait list in case of cancellations – lklassen@hopemountain.org

LEADERS

Sharmin Gamiet

Guest Speaker

Sharmin has been working with fungi for over 25 years, focusing on mushrooms and their relatives found in the Pacific Northwest (BC, Washington and Oregon). She has trained at UBC and the University of Washington using the Friesien species concepts, that is macro and micro morphological, rather than genetic traits, used to group fungi. Sharmin has led mushroom forays throughout the region for many years and enjoys sharing and discussing mushrooms in their habitats.

Kelly Pearce

Program Director

Kelly, Program Director with Hope Mountain Centre, was a naturalist at Manning Provincial Park for 14 years and knows the Cascade Mountains well. Kelly also has a detailed knowledge of the natural and human history of the Fraser River and will introduce you to the varied ecology of the Skagit Valley.